SCIENCE INSTITUTE THE MARY BAKER EDDY THE MARY BAKER EDDY SCIENCE INSTITUTE PRESENTS -WEEKLY LESSON CITATIONS DEAR FRIENDS:

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1 THE MARY BAKER EDDY SCIENCE INSTITUTE PRESENTS WEEKLY LESSON CITATIONS DEAR FRIENDS: Mary Baker Eddy gave her students 26 subjects for weekly Bible Lessons, to be covered twice yearly. Flowing through the year in her order of the subjects, we hereby present fresh views of each one by outstanding Christian Scientists. In this way, we hope to partake with you of new unfoldments of her infinite revelation. This month we will be changing our format somewhat. The last three subjects in January were Life, Truth, and Love, in this lesson for February we will expand on that, Holy Trinity with material from REVELATION AND DEMONSTRATION FOR YOU by Clifford and Daisy Stamp, and then a piece entitled The Holy Trinity from THE SICKLE by William W. Walter. We wish to acknowledge our thanks to The William W. Walter Trust for permission to quote from this work. The policy of authorized literature regimenting and restricting the teaching and practice of Christian Science has long been inimical to the Christian Science movement, and over the years managed to distort Mrs. Eddy s teaching, keeping from the membership the unfolding of what she gave to the world. Yet even as early as 1910 there were two prominent Christian Scientists, one in England and one in Chicago, who recognized this ecclesiastical flaw, and that it promoted the failings of old theology. Frederick L. Rawson and William W. Walter where highly successful practioners, healers, teachers, and writers. Both men predicated their early findings entirely on Mrs. Eddy s work, her books and her other publications. Each man also publicly stated her place in Bible Prophecy as revealed in the Book of Revelation. Mr. Rawson and Mr. Walter were later ostracized by the church authorities of the time, and as a consequence formulated their own means and methods for promoting, expanding, and clarifying the scientific truth of Christian Science.

2 Mr. Rawson headquartered in London, England, formed, The Society for Spreading the Knowledge of True Prayer. In the United States Mr. Walter named his undertaking Eschatology, a movement still flourishing worldwide today. Later in 1950 John W. Doorly brought to the unfolding light of Christian Science the understanding of the pure Science and system of Mrs. Eddy disscovery. These were elucidated through the seven synonyms for God operating throughout the divine infinite calculus of the Word, the Christ, Christianity and Science at the four levels of consciousness. These are outlined in the Christian Science textbook Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. They are: Science, Divine Science, Absolute Christian Science, and Christian Science. Previously on this Web Site we have shared much of Mr. Doorly s discovery, and that of many of his eminent pupils. More recently we featured a lesson from Mr. Rawson s book, LIFE UNDERSTOOD. Subsequently in November we presented a lesson on a work by Lillian dewaters. Upon research her teacher was discovered to have been none other than Mr. Walter. We found it unbelievable that this body of work had been hidden from the Movement of today. In his book MARY BAKER EDDY - HER SPIRITUAL PRECEPTS Gilbert Carpenter wrote the following: For the Church today private William Walter claimed to be a Christian Scientist and did fine healing work, until his divergent views caused him to be excommunicated. One of his claims was that Mrs. Eddy had prophesied that the time would come when the church organization would be given up. He took upon himself to declare that he knew that time had come, and that all Christian Science churches should be turned into school-rooms for the purpose of teaching metaphysics. I think today more than ever we see how right Mr. Walter was. Anyone looking for more information on Mr. Walter might go to for a short biographical sketch of both he and Mrs. Eddy. (We will supply a hardcopy to anyone asking for it.)

3 From Revelation and Demonstration by Clifford and Daisy Stamp. The Spiritual Meaning of the Scriptures is Revealing Itself This morning I felt full of gratitude that God is showing us this wonderful scientific picture in Revelation. When you think of all the important people in the churches all over the world and so many of them lovely characters who are reaching out for Truth-and yet not one of them really understands the Science of this book called Revelation, you realize how true are those words of Jesus: I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. We certainly are babes in Christ, because we are just beginning to see something of what the Master taught, and what the Scriptural writers understood and wrote about from the first book of the Bible right through to the last. So we undoubtedly have a great opportunity during this week to investigate those deep things of God which the human mind has said cannot be understood. Let us be grateful, then, that God is revealing to us the scientific interpretation of the Scriptures, and that although we are only just glimpsing it, we can already touch its wonder. God is the Only Life This morning one of the first things that came to me was these words from one of Mrs. Eddy s hymns Strongest deliverer, friend of the friendless, Life of all being divine (Mis. 399:11-12). In the wonderful calculus of spiritual ideas which Science presents we find the true sense of Life, which not only blesses us and everyone we think about, but also the whole world. Think of it: Life of all being divine! I was telling you yesterday that two references kept coming to me for many months, and I mentioned that the first reference was, We know Principle only through Science (My. 149:5). The second one was this: The author has healed hopeless organic disease, and raised the dying to life and health through the understanding of God as the only Life (S. & H. 428:30-32). What a statement! I began to ask myself: why does Mrs. Eddy say that and what does she mean? So I began to study this one Life, and it is a truly glorious picture. When you and I understand that God is the only Life, we shall do the works which the Master did, we shall heal as Mrs. Eddy did, and we shall have a sense of reality that will be too wonderful to put into words. Life is the Great I AM I feel that if during this week we can grasp some aspects of divine Science, the facts of one Life, one Truth, one Love, and one divine Principle, Love, then they will expand and expand in our thought and bring real progress Page 3

4 This is how I have summed up Principle s activity as Life: Life is forever expressing Himself to Himself as infinite individuality, infinite inspiration, infinite exaltation; infinite immortality, infinite multiplication. Moses caught a glimpse of that when he heard God say, I AM THAT I AM. I want to go over that again, because it will help us to touch the spiritual sense of Life, and so I do ask you to let your thought dwell on it: Life is forever expressing Himself to Himself as infinite individuality, infinite inspiration, infinite exaltation, infinite immortality, infinite multiplication, and Moses saw that in a degree when he heard God say, I AM THAT I AM. I am loving this sense of the I AM. A little girl who understood something of this I AM, said, I must never say I am sick, because the one I AM is never sick. She glimpsed the wonderful fact that she could not express anything that God was not expressing. How different it is from that sense of things which sometimes makes us say, Well, I m trying to make this demonstration, or I m feeling a little bit better, or I don t think I m so well, and everything of that kind. The I AM gives us the certainty, I am well, I am immortal, I am perfect, I am exalted now. As we understand this Life which is the everlasting I AM, we find the straight and narrow way to health and happiness in our own experience. Do let us cultivate this habit of living in the now, the now of infinite Life, the great I AM, instead of always putting off health and happiness to some future time! Today I want to take a few references which bring out a very positive sense of Life, and as we look at them we shall see that they contain a wealth of ideas. Mrs. Eddy writes, Because Life is God, Life must be eternal, self-existent. Life is the everlasting I AM, the Being who was and is and shall be, whom nothing can erase (S. & H. 289:32-2). I have gone over that statement many, many times, and the more I think about it the more I love it. Just dwell on Life as the I AM, the Being who was and is and shall be, whom nothing can erase! The understanding of that I AM has completely changed my method of working in Science, and as we go on I will show you what I mean. In studying for these talks, I have found again and again how right Mr. Doorly was in the statements he made. For instance, he said that the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, was written mainly from the aspect of Christian Science, which means, as we know, Science as applied to humanity, and in studying I have found how true that is. But here and there in a very definite way Mrs. Eddy presents the facts of Life, Truth, and Love in divine Science as so dynamic that they just wash out completely any sense of an opposite. Of course, that is what you would expect in divine Science. When you really arrive at some aspect of perfection, you know it, and that results in the annihilation of everything unlike that reality. Here, for instance, we have seen that in speaking of Life in divine Science Mrs. Eddy makes this brief Page 4

5 but glorious statement: Life is the everlasting I AM, the Being who was and is and shall be, whom nothing can erase. Life in and of Spirit Let us take a reference which will help us to see what Mrs. Eddy means when she says that she healed through the understanding of God as the only Life. This knowledge came to me in an hour of great need; and I give it to you as death-bed testimony to the daystar that dawned on the night of material sense. This knowledge is practical, for it wrought my immediate recovery from an injury caused by an accident, and pronounced fatal by the physicians. On the third day thereafter, I called for my Bible, and opened it at Matthew ix. 2. As I read, the healing Truth dawned upon my sense; and the result was that I rose, dressed myself, and ever after was in better health than I had before enjoyed. That short experience included a glimpse of the great fact that I have since tried to make plain to others, namely, Life in and of Spirit; this Life being the sole reality of existence (Mis. 24:4-18). Throughout her writings Mrs. Eddy brings out that sense of Life in and of Spirit, and Paul certainly saw the beauty of this when he said, to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Let us consider what this one Life really is, Life in and of Spirit. What does it mean to you and to me? Perhaps we shall understand that if we see first of all what the material sense of life involves. The material sense of life, with all its false systems (such as material science, false theology, materia medica), sin, sickness, disease, death, lack, fear, beginning and ending, and so forth, is a dream. In a dream, everything taking place is real to the dreamer, and only when he awakens from that dream does he know that the experience never happened to him. Mrs. Eddy says, Entirely separate from the belief and dream of material living, is the Life divine, revealing spiritual understanding and the consciousness of man s dominion over the whole earth (S. & H. 14:25-28). So we learn in Science that the Life divine never mingles with the material sense of life at any point. Today we need to know the onliness and allness of the one Life, and that our true body is consciousness. If we go on believing in the material sense of life, we end up an old crock and prepare to pass out of the picture, not knowing whence we come, and whither we go. As we go on, we shall see the difference between believing in and being governed by the so-called material life (which ends in decay and decrepitude and everything that man doesn t want), and the spiritual sense of Life, which forever exalts and inspires and multiplies. I love those words from a hymn: O Life, that maketh all things new. If we have the sense that Life is forever making all things new, we just can t believe that man can decay or die. Page 5

6 Thou Shalt Have No Belief of Life as Mortal How are we going to lay aside the material sense of life? By having that cultivated spiritual understanding of divine Science which says, There is one Life, which is in and of Spirit. Here is a reference which will help us to see how we can realize the one Life: Jesus urged the commandment, Thou shalt have no other gods before me, which may be rendered: Thou shalt have no belief of Life as mortal; thou shalt not know evil, for there is one Life, even God, good (S. & H. 19:29-1). When we were studying that passage with a friend, we suddenly became aware of this great demand of Science: Thou shalt have no belief of Life as mortal; thou shalt not know evil, for there is one Life! Now, you may say, How in the world do I do that? Here am I, surrounded with the belief of mortality, surrounded by material law, and everything talks to me about the material sense of life. How am I going to get to the point where I have no belief of Life as mortal? Well, the way to begin is to cultivate the habit of thinking about the one Life. You will find that if you begin to dwell on these wonderful statements about Life, they will permeate your consciousness and you will begin to lose some of the false beliefs of mortality, until eventually you will ascend, as Jesus did; he ascended at the point where he knew only Life in and of Spirit. That experience has to come to everyone of us; it s bound to come. But of course what we want to know at the moment is what we do now, and where we start now, and that s what I shall try to show you. Life Abundant I am going to tell you of something very beautiful which happened in my experience and which made me see how vital every statement about Life is. All these facts which I tell you are very real to me, because God has not only shown them to me, but He has also proved them to me. Some years ago, when we were just beginning to study the seven synonymous terms for God and we were going to give a talk on Life, I was sitting at home one day bathing my thought in all that I knew at that time about Life. I was turning up some of the references to Life in the Concordance to Mrs. Eddy s writings, and I caught a sense of Life such as I had never had before. As I was studying, the telephone rang, and it was someone asking if I would help an accident case. A young man had been picked up unconscious, lying in a country road, having been thrown off his motor bike, and in desperation the mother of this boy had got hold of a friend and asked her to telephone me. The boy had been taken unconscious to hospital, and the verdict by a leading surgeon was that he would not recover, because he had lost a lot of blood and his brain was badly damaged. Now, with this sense that was flooding my thought I saw that the whole story of that boy was a lie. I saw that God s idea had never been touched, and that losing a lot of blood wasn t anything to do with that boy s Page 6

7 life, because he had abundant life and that was the only fact of his being. I bathed my thought in what I knew about Life, and I wouldn t accept the socalled facts about that boy. The result was that that evening I had a message to say that to the surprise of the surgeon the boy had regained consciousness, but the brain was so badly damaged that they still felt that his case was hopeless to cut a long story short, in a fortnight that boy came out of hospital one hundred percent well, with not even a scar to show where the head had split open. The surgeon said to the mother, as they were leaving, This is indeed a miracle. That boy was at college, and he was due to sit a few weeks later for a very difficult examination, but the doctor did not want him to study for it, and so his mother came along to me again and said, What about this exam.? I looked at her and said, You know what God can do. Are you going to stop half-way? And she said, I will go back and tell him to go on. He went back to college and prepared for the exam and passed with flying colours. Now, all that took place because I had listened to the facts of the one Life which God had revealed to me. The Life that Knows No Death When I was studying Life a few months ago, probably in a larger way and a deeper way than I knew a few years ago, I again saw how necessary it is to take a stand for that one Life. At this time our beloved King passed on and everyone was talking about it. The first time I heard the news, I was alone, and I said to myself, It isn t true. No one ever dies. He s living and loving and rejoicing at this moment as much as ever he was. I wouldn t accept the lie that he wasn t in the presence of Life, although I heard a lot of people during the day sorrowing over it. When I got home, I said aloud, No one has died. It isn t true. The only thing operating is the one Life that knows no death. Now, a wonderful thing happened. A little later I was asked to help a child living a long way away from here; his mother rang me up and said that he was ill and completely listless, and she asked if I would help him. I worked for two or three days and nothing happened to that child he became worse instead of better. Then there was one day when I was away from home, and his mother rang me up when I did get home and said that she had been trying to get me all day, because it looked as if that little chap was going to pass on. Here was a child who had always been full of energy and full of vitality, and he had lost all interest in life and didn t seem to be here at all. She said that because she couldn t get me on the telephone, she and her husband sat down together and began to analyze what had been happening in their life and in their home, and she said that the error was uncovered in the most wonderful way as a result of that intelligent analysis. She told me that in order to try to give the child some interest, she had said to him, What about your diary that you love to write in? What about putting something down about the day we went over to see Mrs. So-and-so? The only thing he said Page 7

8 was, I don t want ever to put anything in my diary about Mrs. So-and-so, and immediately the mother remembered that at Mrs. So-and-so s they had watched the King s funeral on the television. That child had been brought up in Christian Science, and the picture of death had so preyed on his mind that it was the governing error at the back of the whole situation. And so when his mother told me this, and was full of regret that he had ever seen the programme, I said, There has never been a King s funeral. That s what we ve got to know. If there had never been a King s funeral, your child would be well. I came away from the telephone and sat down and the one thing that flooded my thought was, There has never been a King s funeral. Now, sorne people might think I was mad if I told them that that had come to my thought, because sense testimony said that there had been a King s funeral and that millions were believing it. But one on God s side is a majority, and the sense of life that came to me was wonderful. I glowed with it, and I went off to bed happy. The next morning the mother rang up and said, I can t tell you in words what I feel. I went into his bedroom this morning and that child who seemed to be passing away yesterday was standing on his head with the joy of life. Think what that meant! Now, that s what this understanding of the one Life can do. I am certain that that case was healed because I had already refused to be mesmerized by mass thinking and because I refused to come down from that sense that the only thing going on was Life, the one Life that knows no death. The parents of that child, because of some understanding of Science, were not mesmerized by looking at the child s body, but they turned away from the mortal picture, and intelligently analyzed the mental condition. Because of this, the governing error was uncovered. So here was a lovely illustration of Life expressing itself-through me, through the parents, and through the child. When I think about this one Life, not only does inspiration fill my consciousness, but also I bow in humility before its omnipotence: The Forever Newness of Life If only we will stop being mesmerized by material sense! I meet many people who call themselves students of Christian Science and sometimes the fiirst thing they say to me is, Have you heard that So-and-so has passed on? or Have you heard that Mr. X is ill? Now, let s not do it. If we are going to listen to the facts of being, and if we re going to touch and demonstrate this wonderful story of the one Life, the only Life, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and omni-active, the only thing ever going on, we must keep awake, and quickly reverse what sense testimony is telling us. For instance, not one of us wants to get old or to lose our faculties, and yet we go on making a great deal of birthdays. A child of five loves to say that it s five Page 8

9 because it is proud of what it can do, and a person of seventy-five will love to tell you their age because they think that there s something lovely in it, but it s a completely false sense of Life. Life is nothing whatever to do with age or time, and we all know that when we stop to think. If we believe that we started materially, at a certain point in time, then we are accepting the mortal picture and we are not believing the fact of divine Science that Life is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. We do need to be awake about these things if we want to demonstrate this one Life. Can anything be more inspiring than to experience here and now the forever newness of Life, with its infinite multiplication and infinite progression? When I think of those two experiences which came because of a small understanding of the one Life, I thank God with all my heart for Science which has a divine system, so that all men can understand and demonstrate the one Life. Individuality Expressing Itself Mrs. Eddy on one occasion quoted some words about looking through nature up to nature s God, and the other day when Clifford and I were sitting in the garden talking about Life and what it really means, Clifford said, You know, to me Life always seems to be individuality expressing itself. Every blade of grass, every leaf, every bird at this time of the year seems to be bursting forth with its individuality. That is just the material symbol, of course, but we can t afford to ignore that symbol. Science teaches the allness of Mind and the nothingness of matter, but at the moment we still reason through symbols, and we see ideas through material symbols (although it is always in spite of matter and never because of it); and so as he said that, I caught a glimpse of individuality in a way I had never done before. As I stopped to listen, the birds were singing and singing, and the leaves seemed to be unfolding before my eyes, and the whole world had that bursting sense which it has in the spring. I feel that if we can grasp something of true individuality, as that which always expresses itself, we shall glimpse something of what Life really is. Individuality Knows No Restrictions Let us look at the picture in the world today. What is happening to individuality? It s being suppressed in every phase of life. There is in the world today a great deal of mass thinking; instead of people thinking for themselves, they tend to do blindly what someone else tells them to do. Then take the business world: there may be a man who is brilliant, but he s restricted on every hand, because of a false sense of rules and regulations; instead of being able to use the ideas which come to him and which would bless him and bless his business and bless the country, there s restriction and limitation. And so it is vitally important for us to see what individuality really means. Page 9

10 Now, someone will say, Well, if I live in England, what s the good of trying to get beyond the restrictions? But in Science we don t live in England: we live in the realm of Science, the realm of reality. Everything we think affects our body, our home, our business, and our universe, and so think of the results if only some of our fine business men and women in this country understood what Principle is interpreting! If they understood something of the one Life with its infinite multiplication and inspiration, and if they would take those ideas which Principle gives them and live with them and not forsake them just because they think that today they re impossible, and If they would remember that their whole being, their whole business, the whole of their activity, is taking place in the realm of ideas, in the realm of Science, what a difference there would be! The way would open up irresistibly for the fulfilment of those ideas. In Science there is not only this abundant sense of Life forever expressing itself as ideas, but also the fact that these ideas are already fulfilled. No human government can stop or limit spiritual ideas, and so to the business man this story of the one Life is invaluable. If anyone in the business world will realize that he as an idea, his business as an idea, his universe as an idea, is identified with that one Life which is also Truth and Love, which means that every idea has form and is already fulfilled, then there is no limit to the good he will accomplish. No Lack in Science Let us face up to this claim that there are restrictions and limitations on all sides and that we re in for a slump and a bad time. Let us see that on the one hand there is the fact of Life and its abundance, and that on the other there is the claim of animal magnetism and all its aggressive suggestions. Let us be awake and not accept these suggestions of frustration. Let us know that animal magnetism cannot operate through us or through our business or through our government to interfere with the success and the fulfilment and the abundance of God s ideas. Because the one Life is the only activity going on, there is no life in matter and therefore no animal magnetism to operate. We need to watch that we always handle animal magnetism as nothing claiming to be something. I believe that if even a few of us will see this, we shall help this England of ours in the most wonderful way. Why is there lack? Why is there limitation? There are two reasons. First of all, there is very little understanding of the one Life, and the second reason is that for the most part people are mesmerized by the material sense of life with all its limitations. So everyone from the greatest statesman down thinks that we re in for a bad time. You hear people saying, Things are never going to get right in our time. What a lack of inspiration and hope! Our job is to live in the realm of Science, as the Master did. With five loaves and two fishes, that is, with an understanding of Life in and of Spirit, he fed a multitude, and there s just as Page 10

11 much of that Life present for us today. There is just as much of Life today as ever there was, but people are believing in the material sense of life and therefore they are beset with restriction and lack. In this understanding of the one Life, the one Being, infinite inspiration, infinite exaltation, infinite immortality, infinite multiplication, there is the answer to the world s limitations, the way out of the world s great sense of lack. Think how different the world would be if restrictions were removed and there was a flow of good in human experience! Now, things are going on as they are because of ignorance of God, and only the scientific understanding of the Bible will change the picture. The understanding of Science contained in the Bible and in Science and Health will bring inspiration, individuality, and multiplication of all that is good in this human experience. When we take the facts of Science and we apply them in our own individual way, thought is exalted and we really begin to experience that abundant Life which the master Metaphysician talked about. Intelligent Individual Thinking Lifts the World Because Jesus was so conscious of the one Life, entirely separate from the mortal dream, he said, I am not of the world. We too must follow the Master and say, I am not of the world. Just think for a moment of the inspiration and exaltation as we glimpse the fact that we are forever unfettered, unlimited, and unrestricted. This realization can only come as we give up the mortal sense of life and glimpse the glorious fact of the one Life in divine Science. If we today will grasp the facts of this one Life, study them, think about them, live with them, love them, and refuse to be mesmerized by what sense testimony says, not only are we ourselves going to have a wonderful sense of Life, but we shall also be helping the world. Just as the operation of God s law healed that child quickly and completely when the facts of being were seen, so the understanding of the one Life will operate dynamically to lift us out of limitation and restriction, and will bless all mankind abundantly. Now, we first of all have to prove the one Life individually, then collectively, and then universally. I am certain that there are millions who would love to hear what we are saying here today, but before we touch universal thought we have to cultivate our own understanding of Life, because, as Jesus said, If I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. It s up to you and me to live in the facts of being and to understand the one Life, the I AM that was and is and shall be, whom nothing can erase. That Life is forever expressing itself as infinite individuality. Let us have such a sense of Life forever expressing itself through me, through you, and through every idea, that we are lifted up and everything in our universe is lifted up. Page 11

12 How are we going to get this spiritual sense? Through giving time to be alone with God. The mad rush of materiality says today, There s no time to sit down and think about God. Well, any young man or woman at college who is preparing for exams knows that they must have time to study, and if we re going to understand this one Science that is purely spiritual and that is so dynamic, so infinite, so wonderful, then we must give time to study it. In turning away from materiality and giving up the mortal concept of existence, and then opening our thought to the inspiration of Life, we shall find that this study is the most fruitful work in the world. We must live with the Bible and Science and Health and see what they teach us about God, and then we ve got to apply that understanding in our own experience. If we give time to be alone with God, and not only to study, but also to listen to what Principle is interpreting, then we shall be awake and we shan t be mesmerized by what the carnal mind is saying. Think how wonderful it would be if here today you and I so touched this one divine Life that all restriction was lifted from this England and this world! Think what it would mean! Well, Love always awakens unselfed love, and it is unselfed love which causes us to give time to be alone with God and listen to God, because only in that way can we help ourselves or the world. Individuality Cannot Be Overshadowed One of the worst things that can happen in any home is someone sweeping away the individuality of someone else In that home. So often, because of fear or anxiety, one member of a family will smother another member, so that he or she finds it difficult to express his or her individuality. If you find anyone in a home or in a business or anywhere who is overshadowed by a greater personality, he begins to be uncertain, and life begins to lose its fullness and richness. But if you watch a man or woman who expresses individuality and who won t allow that individuality to be overshadowed, he certainly expresses something of the one Life. Sometimes it means taking a stand to do that, but it is so important. Individuality is nothing to do with domination, and domination is impossible when anyone understands the one Being forever expressing Himself through me, through you, and through every other idea. Because Life is infinite individuality, Life is forever expressing itself through each one of us in an individual way. Nothing can rob us of our right to think and act as Life inspires us to do. What a sense of colour and richness it brings when you glimpse this fact of infinite individuality, and you begin to prove that no one can crush another individual or be crushed by another individual. When we want everyone to operate just as we do, we make our world so small and so limited, but it opens up such a big picture and such a lovely picture when we see the infinite nature of true individuality. Of course, we mustn t confuse individuality with personality, because it is a very different matter doing something just because you want to be different from everyone else and doing it because you feel that that is the way in which Life impels you to express yourself. Page 12

13 Identify Yourself with Infinite Life You and I will help ourselves so much if we will declare that we are identified with the one Life, that we are identified with infinite individuality, infinite inspiration, infinite exaltation and multiplication. Sense is identifying you with the opposite-it says that you are poor, or that you are uninspired, or that you can t express yourself freely. That s what sense is always saying, but individuality says, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. What gives a lovelier picture of individuality than I AM? John Doorly said a thing which at first startled me in his talks on Christian Science practice, but bit by bit I have seen how true his statement was. He said that each of us is Life, Truth, and Love in operation. For one moment I thought, What a statement! but since then I have often found myself saying, when I ve been helping patients, I am Life, Truth, and Love in operation, and that s all that is operating through me or through anyone, and it has lifted me out of the mesmerism of materiality in the most wonderful way. Now, that doesn t mean that we are God, because that isn t what Science teaches. Mrs. Eddy says, Man is not God, but like a ray oflight which comes from the sun, man, the outcome of God, reflects God (S. & H. 250:12-13). When you and I begin to see that there s one Life, one Truth, and one Love, which is the story of divine Science, and that that is the only fact in reality, then we can t help seeing clearly that the only thing that is operating through me, through you, and through everyone, is Life, Truth, and Love. When we see that, we have that glorious sense not of God creating something and putting it out there, and that something out there reflecting God, but the dynamic sense of God forever reflecting on Himself and that reflection being me and you and all creation. Principle and its idea is one, so don t you see that the thing in Science is to keep thinking of God and what He is doing and to turn away from the mortal sense of life? That s the way that we are going to be able to have no belief of Life as mortal and not to know evil, as Science demands of us. I suggest that if you want to think about God as Life, you dwell on these references in which Mrs. Eddy gives such a definite sense of Life. Suppose that first thing in the morning, before you get up, you begin to think about these facts. Suppose you begin to think, "Well now, the only I AM is Life, the Being who was and is and shall be, whom nothing can erase, " and then suppose you follow that by thinking, There s only one thing going on, and that is that one infinite Life forever expressing Himself to Himself as infinite individuality, infinite inspiration, infinite exaltation, infinite multiplication. As your consciousness is filled with those facts of Principle interpreting itself as Life, they will operate in your human experience in the most dynamic way. Page 13

14 Hypnotism the Denial of Individuality There is a great deal of discussion in the papers today on the subject of hypnotism, and it is often suggested that hypnotism is the important thing to learn at the present time. We even read that there s going to be a college so that doctors can learn to heal through hypnotism. Hypnotism takes away a man s individuality, and so the very fact that it is coming out into the open means that evil is exposing itself. Mrs. Eddy and Jesus both showed very clearly that as the days of materiality get near their doom, we shall find evil showing itself in a more aggressive way. So thank God that this error of hypnotism is being uncovered. And let us watch that we re not hypnotized by materiality in any way, because the hypnotism of materiality is always trying to rob us of our true individuality. Coming together like this, turning to God to know the way, is a wonderful thing. I feel that there s a great need for us to do these things, so that thought is awakened and so that we feel that we are starting afresh with a new sense of the one Life. Let us remember that when these errors, such as hypnotism, become very obvious, it is evil uncovering itself. Why? Because the whole world, whether it knows it or not, is beginning to accept what Jesus taught and what Mrs. Eddy taught. Let s take that reference about the woman who took the leaven and hid it in three measures of meal: The leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, is Divine Science; the Comforter; the Holy Ghost that leadeth into all Truth; the still, small voice that breathes His presence and power, casting out error and healing the sick. And woman, the spiritual idea, takes of the things of God and showeth them unto the creature, until the whole sense of being is leavened with Spirit. The three measures of meal may well be likened to the false sense of life, substance, and intelligence, which says, I am sustained by bread, matter, instead of Mind. The spiritual leaven of divine Science changes this false sense, giving better views of Life; saying, Man s Life is God; and when this shall appear, it shall be the substance of things hoped for. The measure of Life shall increase by every spiritual touch, even as the leaven expands the loaf (Mis. 174:30-13). Make no mistake about it, these great facts that we re seeing here are Principle interpreting Himself, and as Mrs. Eddy says, The measure of Life shall increase by every spiritual touch. We are all here because we love the spiritual, and so our coming together is not only going to change us, but it s also going to change the whole of thinking right throughout the world; it s bound to, because the only here and now is in consciousness. After talks of this kind I always notice that things change in the world, and one day they will be recorded. I am convinced that after everyone of these talks in which we touch something of the facts of reality, something progressive happens in our world, because our thinking constitutes our world. Page 14

15 Mrs. Eddy saw that divine Science is the only thing which teaches that there is no life, no substance, and no intelligence in matter. Nothing else teaches that, and that great fact of being is gradually permeating human consciousness. One of the ways in which Truth operates is to expose the errors in human thinking. For instance, Science teaches that the divine Mind is All, and that we live in the realm of ideas; therefore it is never matter that we deal with, but always thought. The world is beginning to see that thinking is at the root of everything, but that has become distorted into the belief that you can heal through the human mind, and now that you can heal by means of hypnotism. It s an attempt that can only lead to disaster, and so it is coming to the surface only that its nothingness may be proved. The Bible says, to be spiritually minded is life and peace, and today thinking men and women all over the world are reaching out for spirituality; many are saying, The only remedy is to be found in the spiritual. We can rejoice that the leaven of Science is at work. Mrs. Eddy says very plainly, The Christian Scientist demonstrates that divine Mind heals, while the hypnotist dispossesses the patient of his individuality in order to control him. No person is benefited by yielding his mentality to any mental despotism or malpractice. All unscientific mental practice is erroneous and powerless, and should be understood and so rendered fruitless. The genuine Christian Scientist is adding to his patient s mental and moral power, and is increasing his patient s spirituality while restoring him physically through divine Love (S.& H. 375:11-20). The Infinite Inspiration of Life I feel that the word inspiration gives a wonderful sense of the one Life. When a man is divinely inspired, everything he does is progressive and successful and he feels that his individuality is really being expressed. If you drag your feet along and you have a great sense of weight and struggle, that isn t life! We saw yesterday that in Science there is no struggle, no problem, because there is only the one Being forever expressing itself, and there is nothing else going on. Think how satisfying it will be when the moment we need to know anything, the answer comes instantly to us, just as it came to me about that little boy, through the understanding of Life. Think of the dominion, think of the newness, think of the loveliness of it! When I looked up the meaning of inspiration in Webster, I found that inspire is the opposite of expire. Isn t it wonderful when you think about that? I often say to a patient, You can t die if you keep singing. You couldn t imagine anyone dying if he kept singing in his heart. Now, do let us have that sense of inspiration. Mrs. Eddy writes, The divine Science taught in the original language of the Bible came through inspiration, and needs inspiration to be understood (S. & Page 15

16 H. 319:21-23). Therefore we need inspiration to understand the spiritual facts presented in the Bible. I feel certain that if we keep our thought on the facts of the one Life, we shall experience that inspiration. Think of the newness and the loveliness of life to anyone who is always inspired in Science! Life is Instantaneous and Eternal. I am going to tell you another story which shows how important it is for us to know this one I AM. We do need to remember constantly that Truth always was, that Life forever is, and that shall be indicates the certainty of the fulfilment of Love. Some months ago, when I began to study this I AM, a man rang me up one night and said, I have been in agony for days. I ve not been able to sleep. My back is giving me dreadful pain and I want you to help me. I said to him quickly, Well then, you ve had your back up against somebody, something has hurt you, and because he is awake about Science he said immediately, I see it! I see what I ve done. Then I said to him, If you had never had your back up against anyone and you had never had any hurt mentally, you would be well today, wouldn t you? He replied, Yes, I would. He saw exactly what I meant and he was healed at once; he went to bed and that was the end of that whole condition. It was wiped out instantly, and that meant such a lot to that man. Here was an illustration of error being analyzed, uncovered, and quickly annihilated. Through this study I am seeing that Science gives us that divine insight which can read the human mind, quickly see the mental cause of some trouble, and as quickly have the right ideas that will wipe out completely the whole lie that there ever was anything wrong with God s man. 2 and 2 is always 4, and if you come up against a suggestion that 2 and 2 makes 5, you immediately correct it. Let us be just as awake about the facts of man. As God s ideas we have always been spiritual, always perfect, always healthy, always happy, always Christ-like, always lovely; we are now; and we always shall be. This realization can only come as we understand the I AM, the Being who was and is and shall be. The Life That Maketh All Things New Now, we ve only touched on a few aspects of the one Life this morning, but I feel that we must let God tell us the story and not try to rush it. Mrs. Eddy gives about 330 references to divine Science, and we can only just take a few on these occasions, but if we begin to see what Science means and we have a love of the spiritual so that we love to take our textbooks and find for ourselves what they re all about, then we shall have achieved something. The way to start, if you really want to see what Life is, is to take the Concordances to the Christian Science textbook and to the other writings of Mary Baker Eddy and to live in that sense of Life which Mrs. Eddy reveals Life without beginning Page 16

17 or end, with no limitation, no restriction, no Lo here! or Lo there! As we understand the one Life, the one Truth, and the one Love, we shall find that Heaven is the reign of divine Science (My. 267:23-24). Science is the realization of perfection, the realization of that which was and is and shall be. So instead of trying to make this mortal immortal, let us keep thought fixed on the fact of the one Life. That is the only thing that is going on, the one infinite Life, the one Life that is entirely separate from the belief and dream of material life, and that one infinite Life is forever expressing itself, through me, through you, and through every idea. As thought ascends to the glorious facts of the one Life in divine Science, the dream of mortality with all its limitations, its sin, disease, and death, will disappear, and health, holiness, and immortality will appear. As intelligent men and women see these things taking place, Christian Science will no longer be regarded as a little religious organization that doesn t believe in doctors, but it will be recognized as the only Science. It is the most wonderful story the world has ever known, and every one of us can love it and prove for ourselves that Life is that which maketh all things new. THE HOLY TRINITY From THE SICKLE by William W. Walter Who or what is the Holy Trinity? The Scriptural names for the Holy Trinity are the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, as all Bible readers know. Are these three persons in one God, or are they three Gods in one person? The Holy Trinity has nothing at all to do with person. The Father, Son and Holy Ghost are Scriptural names given to certain qualities or states of Mind (the one and only God). Mind and consciousness are one and the same and are the primal Cause or only creative element. When speaking of Consciousness as the fundamental or primal element, the name Father was given it, because all desire originates in the primal element and desire is ever the father of the corresponding thought. Consciousness is Life and the source from which all Life unfolds. When speaking of the activity or mental force of the primal element or consciousness, namely, its thought or thinking, the name Son was given to this activity, for although thought is one with consciousness, yet it originates (is Page 17

18 the activity) in and through consciousness. This thinking or thought is not another consciousness but it is the same element in the active or subjective position. Consciousness, the primal element, generates thoughts of itself, and passes these very thoughts before itself, thus viewing the subject of its own thinking. In fact, thought is Consciousness in the subjective state, and as Consciousness creates, or gives birth to its thoughts, thought therefore is the Son (offspring), and also the sun or light of the Mind, or, conscious Consciousness. In speaking of the activity of Consciousness in relation to the elemental Consciousness, Jesus said: The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. The elemental mind substance called Consciousness, does no judging, for all judgment of the Mind or Consciousness is done by and through thinking, or thought, or reason (the Son). All conscious thinking, reasoning, judging, takes place in the subjective state of Consciousness. We now have the primal element or Life itself as the first state (not person) of Consciousness and the Bible term for this primal state of Mind is the Father. There is also the conscious activity of the primal element in which a subjective state is formed out of itself, and this second state is called the Son. It must not be supposed that there is any lapse of time or space between the first and second states. They are simultaneous. When the subject of thought held in the second or subjective state arrives at the point of mental conviction, be it understanding or belief, it becomes a concrete thought and passes from the second or subjective state into the third or objective state. In this third state, the subject or thought held in the Mind or Consciousness becomes objectified, is expressed or embodied. In the Bible this third state is termed the Holy Ghost, a term as expressive as are the names Father and Son to the first and second state. The word Holy is a corruption of the word whole, meaning complete or perfect, and the word Ghost is easily understood as shadow. Thus the third or Holy Ghost state of Consciousness is but the whole shadow or image of the Mind s thinking, namely, its convictions of thought objectified or expressed, either as action, feeling or form, according to whether the thought held in mind is one of action, feeling or form. It is always the image and likeness of Consciousness and its activity. It is the understanding (right or wrong) or fixed position at which the mental element arrives through its process of reason. It is the residue of all that the mental element thinks. It is the body of the mental element, or, the mental element s understanding, expressed as action, feeling and form; or if in error, its belief, expressed as action, feeling or form. Webster defines body as that which is set or fixed. It is the Mind s understanding of itself. It is the understanding of Understanding. When correct, it is the Soul s conviction of truth, in the expressed state. Page 18